Carbon black is conventionally produced by decomposing an oil. Typically, a feed oil is heated in a ceramic lined reactor by hot combustion gases which contact the oil either tangentially or coaxially. The reaction is generally controlled or terminated by injecting a quench fluid at a predetermined location along a cylindrical reaction zone.
Carbon black reactor feed oils often contain contaminants. When heated at high carbon black reaction temperatures, these contaminants form undesired compact masses. The masses which contact the reactor walls tend to deposit there. Buildup of such deposits fouls the reactor internals to such a degree that the reaction must be stopped and the reactor disassembled and cleaned. Thus, the fouling results in a loss of reactor efficiency and causes increased carbon black production costs.